You can reduce power consumption and
achieve significant energy savings when using your PC simply by acquiring a few
good habits. Read the handy tips below.
The monitor
In a PC, the display is greatly
responsible for overall energy consumption. Some estimates for laptops show that
the monitor accounts for 40% of total energy consumption. The figure is not much
different for desktop PCs. LCD monitors typically require between 15 and 60
watts, while a CRT (cathode ray tube) screen requires between 50 and 125
watts.
In order to reduce energy consumption
and in particular battery consumption, it is recommended to not change the
standard configuration set by the manufacturer. In fact, after a certain period
of inactivity, the monitor automatically "goes to sleep". In this mode, it
consumes just 1 to 3 watts of energy.
Windows operating systems, in
particular from Windows XP onwards, allow you to easily adjust the monitor's
sleep cycle. To lower consumption, you can shorten the idle time, activating the
sleep phase earlier and so saving energy.
Another important factor in energy
consumption as regards the screen is its brightness. It's natural to write in
black on a white sheet, but a very bright page is heavy on consumption, and
strains the eyes. Therefore, experts suggest that screen brightness be reduced
until your eyes are comfortable. In this way, especially for laptops, battery
consumption can be greatly reduced and battery life lengthened.
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